Washing machine



R. H. TOFF LEMIRE WASHING MACHINE Filed July 22, 1966 Oct. 20, 1970 INVENTOR RODERICK HENRY TOFFLEM/RE ATTORNEY 3,534,568 WASHiNG MACHINE Roderick Henry Tofiiemire, Mexico City, Mexico, as-

signor to Colgate-Palmolive Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed .Iuly 22, 1966, Ser. No. 567,187 Int. Cl. D06f 13/04, 15/00 US. C]. 68-38 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to clothes washing machines and more particularly to such machines of the type incorporating a reciprocable agitator.

The invention has particular utility in washing machines adapted for manual operation. Such machines comprise a fixed hollow tubular member adapted to be mounted centrally in a tub or other container and an agitator supported for reciprocation on said tubular member to establish a flow of water between the tub and the interior of the tubular member and at the same time subject the clothes to a mechanical washing action. In machines of this type, efliciency of operation is of particular importance to reduce the physical effort which must be expended by the user.

With these considerations in mind it is a primary purpose of the present invention to provide improved washing machines of the reciprocating agitator type which have increased efliciency which is achieved primarily by improvement of the water flow pattern established upon reciprocation of the agitator.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved washing machines which provide better control of the movement of the clothes received in the surrounding tub.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide improved reciprocating agitator washing machines in which the possibility of entanglement of clothes in the water flow passages or between the relatively movable cylinder and agitator is minimized.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying figure which illustrates a washing machine constructed in accordance with the present invention and installed for use in a tub, parts of the mechanism being broken away to show interior details.

The washing apparatus of the present invention is preferably employed to wash clothes disposed in a confined body of water. According, the washing machine, per se, indicated generally at 20, will be herein described and illustrated as installed in a tub 22, the dimensions and configuration of which are not critical.

The washing machine 20 comprises two principal mechanical components, an agitator 24 and a cylinder assembly 26, and preferably also a free piston unit 28 as a third mechanical component. Preferably the parts are fabricated from plastic'because of the low cost, durability and corrosion resistance of such material.

3,534,568 Patented Get. 20, 1970 The cylinder assembly 26, to be described in greater detail below, comprises a hollow tubular member or column 30 adapted to be placed in upright position in the tub. The inner wall of column 30 is preferably cylindrical and the outer wall preferably tapers slightly from bottom to top. The bottom end of the cylinder 30 is closed by a base plate 32 preferably secured to the bottom of the cylinder by four equally spaced screws 36 (three shown) which pass through plate 32 and are threaded into bosses 38 between which are formed a series of elongated water flow openings 40.

Base plate 32, preferably a flat sheet of any desired shape, e.g., square, octagonal, circular, etc., which extends outwardly beyond the periphery of the bottom of the cylindrical hollow column 39, provides the support for holding the washing machine upright in tub 22 or other suitable wash water receptacle. If the bottom of the tub also is flat no connection between the Washing machine and the tub is required to hold the base plate against the bottom of the tub during operation as described hereinafter but the invention contemplates use of any suitable means to connect the machine to the tub, if desired. One suitable means is illustrated in the drawing which comprises a plurality of rubber suction cups 42 attached to the base plate 32 and adapted to detachably grip the bottom surface 46 of the tub 22. Thus, the cylinder assembly 26 is adapted to be placed in position in a body of wash water in a tub with its axis substantially vertical and with the apertures 49 disposed adjacent to the bottom of the tub.

The agitator 24 is an inverted cup comprising a sleeve 48 and a top wall 50. The sleeve 48 is also preferably of frustoconical shape with its taper matching that of the outer wall of the hollow column 30. The top wall 50 of the agitator has a central socket 52 for the reception of means for reciprocating the agitator such as a handle 54.

Mounted on the lower portion of the outer surface of the agitator sleeve 48 are a plurality of radial fins 56 preferably spaced an equal distance apart around the circumference. The outer surfaces of the fins slope outwardly and downwardly from a point above the mid-point of the sleeve 48 and at their widest point are substantially flush with the bottom edge of the sleeve 48.

The agitator 24 is sometimes referred to herein as being fluid tight, by which is meant that there is no substantial leakage of fluid-either air or waterthrough the top wall 50 or the portion of the sleeve 48 which is above the water line at any time. Because of the fluid tight condition, water is sucked into the machine when the agitator is raised relative to the cylinder assembly and is expelled therefrom when the agitator is pushed down forcefully. This very simple structure is inexpensive, easy to make and assemble and it functions effectively in the manner described hereinafter. The force of the water jets leaving the apparatus, however, can be and preferably is increased by use of a free piston 23.

The free piston 28 is preferably a hollow water tight unit molded of a suitable plastic materiaL The piston is preferably slightly shorter than the hollow column 30 and is of slightly less diameter so that when the parts occupy the position shown in the drawing there is a substantial clearance between the sides and top of the piston and the adjacent structure.

In use, the tub 22 is filled with water to a suitable level, which is at least sufficient to cover the fins 56 when the agitator is in its lowermost position, a suitable amount of detergent is added, and the clothes to be washed are placed in the container where they are suspended in a loose ring or tore around the machine. The operator grasps the handle 54 and reciprocates the agitator 24 between the position shown in the drawing and an upward position in which the bottom of the agitator is about mid-way of the height of the cylinder assembly 26. As the agitator is raised, water flows into the cylinder through the openings 40 because of the diiference in pressure in the wash water at the openings and in the upper part of the cylinder where the rising fluid-tight inverted cup produces a partial vacuum. The free piston, if used, follows the upward movement of the top wall 50 closely. When the agitator has reached the top of its stroke the piston will also be a substantial distance from the bottom of the tube trapping substantial volume of water beneath it within the cylinder 26. During the downstroke of the agitator, the pressure relations change and the fluid-tight inverted cup, assisted by the piston, forceably expels this Water outwardly through the openings 40 in the form of high velocity jets which establish within the tub a current which flows in a general toroidal pattern, the water flow moving the clothes through the same pattern, i.e., the lower portions of the clothes mass move outwardly toward the tub walls and the upper portions of the clothes move inwardly toward the axis of the machine.

This movement is augmented by the fins, the tips of which engage and displace the inner portions of the clothes downwardly. Thus, the fins and the water flow pattern co-operate to produce the desired clothes movement.

In accordance with the present invention this highly desirable motion of the clothes mass is augmented substantially by a deflector 58 having a cylindrical portion 60 secured by a press fit or other connection, e.g., cement, to the periphery of the cylinder 30 above the openings 40. A second portion of the deflector 58 comprises an annular skirt 62 extending outwardly from the cylinder 30 and which preferably is of frusto-conical form flaring outwardly and downwardly. In a typical case where the outer diameter of the bottom of the cylinder 30 is slightly over four inches, the diameter of the outer edge of the skirt 62 will be slightly over six inches and will be disposed approximately above the top surface of the base plate 32. The tapering passageway between skirt 62 and the annular portion of base plate 32 give a venturi-like flow path for water expelled through openings 40. Preferably, although not necessarily, the skirt slopes downwardly at an angle of about 20 and has its outer edge disposed below the tops of the openings 40. To provide additional support for the skirt, the base of the cylinder 30 is thickened outwardly, e.g., as high as the bosses 38, to provide shoulders 64 against which the skirt rests.

The deflector 58 has at least three important functions. First, it smoothly directs the clothes, which are moved downwardly by the fins, downwardly and outwardly to promote the revolving motion of the mass of clothes in the wash water which has been found so desirable in this type of apparatus. The skirt 62 also serves as a water flow deflector to establish an optimum flow pattern to promote the desired motion of the clothes. It directs the water outwardly across the bottom of the tub and establishes a venturi-like effect which effectively increases the jet velocity which significantly improves overall washing efiiciency. Finally, the skirt prevents the clothes from clogging or partially obstructing the openings 40 during the upstroke of the agitator.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by letters Patent is:

1. In a clothes washing machine, a hollow tubular member adapted for relatively stationary upright mounting in a body of wash Water and having a plurality of lateral openings adjacent its lower end, a base plate closing the bottom of said tubular member and projecting laterally outwardly therefrom, an agitator assembly adapted to surround said tubular member above said openings, said agitator assembly being freely reciprocable along the axis of said tubular member to cause water to flow into or be expelled from said tubular member through said openings, a plurality of circumferentially spaced external clothes engaging projections on said agitator assembly, an annular deflector carried by said tubular member above said openings, said deflector being generally frusto-conical with its outer periphery extending down toward said base plate to provide therewith an annular opening through which water flows in passing into and out of said lateral openings of said tubular member, and said deflector extending laterally outwardly effectively into the path of clothes displaced downwardly by said agitator projections.

2. In a clothes washing machine as set forth in claim 1, the said combination together with a free piston in said tubular member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 201,926 4/1878. Knight 68216 291,029 1/1'884 Burnham 68-216 3,423,965 1/1969 Walton 68-216 X WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

